Transcription
Ted: Hey, my name is Ted Shuart. I’m the Schoharie County historian. I got my interest in history when I was probably about ten years old. My mother was an antique dealer and our whole house was furnished with antiques, and she was very much into primitives. So, I slept in a rope trundle bed for a while and I learned the history through her of many of the objects.
And then, in 1961 came the centennial of the Civil War, and I got my marks Civil War soldiers. Topps came out with trading cards on the Civil War. There were a couple of good television shows, and I became hooked on the Civil War. And, then later in the 1970s, when I was a young adult, I got into Civil War reenacting. I’m still active at 41 years later and so I very much enjoyed that. And, then from there, I started talking about my experiences with the Civil War and going to historical societies.
And then I became President of the Cobleskill Historical Society. And then, was hired at the Farmers Museum in Cooperstown in 1996, where I became an interpreter and, just kept learning and adding to that, and I should give a plug to a teacher to whom seventh grade, Marion Grosvenor was my history teacher and homeroom teacher. And, she taught New York State history. And, so I very, very much, love Mrs. Grosvenor, love New York State history and wound up 22 years with the New York State Historical Association in Cooperstown.
So anyhow I’ve got a long background. Also, I became Schoharie County historian, maybe mainly because I never went anywhere. I’ve stayed home most of the time and just learned county history and absorbed it.